[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 86 (Monday, June 1, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3399-S3400]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          REMEMBERING JOHN G. 
                               HEYBURN II

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on Friday, May 8, I had the honor of 
paying tribute to a dear friend, John Heyburn, who passed away on April 
29 after a long illness.
  I ask unanimous consent that the remarks I gave during the 
celebration of his life at St. Francis in the Fields Episcopal Church 
in Harrods Creek, KY, be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                             [May 8, 2015]

               Leader McConnell's Eulogy of John Heyburn

       We lost John just a few days ago, but it's been a long 
     goodbye.
       And so Martha, as we celebrate John this morning, we honor 
     you too.
       Because through it all, you were his most faithful 
     companion, his fiercest advocate, and a cherished lifeline to 
     those of us who loved him dearly.
       And we're grateful.
       Scripture tells us that heaven is a city. And I like to 
     think that even in life John

[[Page S3400]]

     would have appreciated the comparison. He loved this city and 
     all that it meant to him--the connection it gave him to 
     family and the father he so admired--the opportunity it gave 
     him to help so many others over the years as a mentor, a 
     friend, a neighbor, and as a wise and patient jurist.
       John just loved being with people--and we loved being with 
     him. He was a man who was full of life and vigor and a 
     boundless curiosity about the world around him and the people 
     who filled it.
       Above all, though, he was good.
       They say that politics is a contact sport, which is true. I 
     confess I enjoy it. But it's also true that politics carries 
     temptations for all us who are involved in it. Most of us 
     struggle with those temptations, and some occasionally cross 
     the line. Not John.
       John Heyburn had as much integrity as anyone I have ever 
     known. As a young man, he dreamed of being a politician. But 
     what he really wanted, I think, was to play a part in shaping 
     events--to leave a mark on his country, his city, his 
     community . . . to live not just for himself but for others.
       Like so many other great men, he found his heart's ambition 
     in an unexpected place: in the courtroom he came to love, in 
     his marriage with Martha, and in the sons he cherished. And 
     in these last few years, he showed his greatness in another 
     unexpected way. It was in his heroic struggle against a 
     terrible illness that he inspired us most with his optimism 
     and his athlete's spirit. He let us accompany him on the 
     journey, and we we're the better for it.
       To borrow the words of another U.S. Senator, John taught us 
     how to live and he taught us how to die.
       We will miss his hearty laugh, his kind eyes, his 
     thoughtful presence. But as we say our final goodbye to this 
     good man, we are comforted by the thought that he is now in 
     the heavenly city, where we are told that every tear will be 
     wiped away, full of vigor and new life.
       And we are consoled to think that John Heyburn has finally 
     heard those words he longed to hear: ``Well done, good and 
     faithful servant, enter your master's joy.''

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